I go through different stages of writing which range from “this is all TrAsH” & “I LOVE writing!”

Which I’m sure every writer goes through. Sometimes we hate our work and put ourselves down and swear to NEVER write another word again! And other times we’re just typing away furiously and wistfully reading over our work. (or is that just me??)

When first tagged, I was kinda like “UGH TAG” but now that I’m in a REALLY writerly mood, I’m so excited to do this tag!! And I’m probably going to about 3 questions per person for this because I’m not answering 40 questions are you dumb

Thank you to @ReveriePages for these questions!

What’s your current WIP about + what are you working on with it?

Honestly, at this point, I’m not ENTIRELY sure what my WIP is about. As you know, it’s current title is To Shatter A Shadow and it’s about a boy called Skatten who is looking for his lost brother and can also turn into a shadow. There’s a girl called Jackie who runs a creativity centre and is also a thunderstorm (take that literally or metaphorically, I won’t tell you which is correct).

Andddddd that’s basically all I know about it.

I have already written the book last year. At the beginning of 2018, I re-plotted. And now I’m re-writing and editing things, so overall just going over my story and changing it LOADS. I’m loving how it’s coming along so far but this process is taking me a lot longer than I thought it would.

What is your favourite type of ~thing~ to write?

I think, at the moment, it’s poetry.It lets me convey my thoughts and feeling in these cryptic stanzas and I absolutely love getting lost in my words. Poetry comes so easily to me and I enjoy writing it so so much.

While I love writing stories, they require so much effort and I don’t enjoy every moment of crafting it. With poems, it’s like…there’s nothing better in the world when I’m writing them and it is just the best.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

For NaNoWriMo, I was a panster the whole way through. I COMPLETELY WINGED MY WHOLE WIP AND HOPED FOR THE BEST. Which I am totally okay with because, for ME, that was the best way I could get my story down.

Most people I know are plotters but I have figured outlines don’t work for me!! And that’s okay. Sure I might feel left out everyone talks about outlines and planning and I’m just like “what are those things??” but I think everyone has a different way to write stories.

I wish the book/writer community mentioned this because for a long time I thought you HAD to write outlines and plan your story. Everyone always told me it’s so important to do so. But no-one was ever like “HEY!! You don’t HAVe to plan your novel” and honestly, I needed to hear that because here I was writing outlines and giving up halfway through and never finishing a WIP.

Thanks to @ForeverAndEverly for these questions!!

Out of the characters you’ve written so far, who are your favourites?

I have to say Jackie is a character I loved writing. I love all the characters I write to be perfectly honest but I absolutely LOVE her. She’s a bit magical and whimsical but also gets really angry and doesn’t take crap from anyone (not even Skatten!).

A lot of the time in YA, I see this really strong and amazing female character…and then as soon as a love interest comes along, they change completely. With Jackie, I didn’t want her whole life revolving around the LI whilst also having chemistry and making sure JACKIE WAS STILL HER OWN CHARACTER AND NOT A PIECE OF MUSH. She’s definitely a Slytherclaw and I think I have a huge soft spot for her.

What (or who) motivates you to write?

When I see people getting book deals on Twitter! When I see authors holding their books for the first time! When I see writing competitions happening! Really, it’s OTHER WRITERS who motivate me. People who have gone from writers to authors, that’s what keeps me writing.

One day, I hope to write a story and for it to be published. So I keep writing and editing and eating in the hope that one day it will happen. And other writers who just cheer me on, tell me to never give up, or to leave a WIP if that’s what i need to do; things like this make me so motivated!!

Compliments of my writing also motivate me! When people say they enjoyed something I write or fangirl over it, the feeling I get is so warm and fuzzy and I want to write more, to inspire and help the world with just my little pieces of words.

What genre will you never try, and why?

Probably Science Fiction because I have no interest in it. I don’t mind reading it but I just can’t imagine talking about space and aliens in my books, It’d just feel really weird.

Thanks to @My1stChapter for these questions!

What is your favourite genre to write?

MAGICAL REALISM is one of my favourite things to write! To Shatter A Shadow fits nicely into that genre and I love writing magic whilst also not having to build a whole fantasy world if that makes sense.

What brings you the most satisfaction as a writer?

The other day, I went through Google Docs and read some months old poems of mine,,, AND THEY WERE REALLY GOOD. They are ones I’ve never shared and yet I LOVE them so much and I have no idea how I wrote like that?

My answer for this would have to be, going back over old writing and thinking “WOW THAT IS GOOD” THAT FEELING IS SO SATISFYING AND AMAZING.

Thank you to @AStarlitReader for these questions

What type of characters do you prefer writing?

I’m not ENTIRELY sure about this one but I like writing MESSY characters. Teens who make mistakes, who get angry, who do the wrong thing. Relationships that are seriously messed up and weird and aren’t so easy to understand.

One of my favourite books ever is The Accident Season, and that’s because it’s so messed up and wild and weird and all the characters are these strange people. I loved it because it wasn’t a NORMAL book. It was crazy and awesome, and that’s how I like my characters to be. Different, unique and powerful.

Which of your characters is based off you?

I think all my characters have little bits of me. Skatten’s mental state reflects A LOT of my mental state and that’s why I love writing him? Jackie isn’t me but she’s a lot of who I want to be and who I keep away inside.

All of my characters are based off me but are also their own, unique people at the same time. I love writing characters that have little bits of my personality sprinkled on them because as I write their character, I get to explore small parts of me too? Which is so cool.

Literally, everyone asked for aesthetic so here it is!! ALSO, GO FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST WHILE YOU ARE AT IT.

AESTHETIC

SNIPPETS

So in my previous recap, I mentioned I was writing a lot of poetry and a few people screamed “SNIPPETS!!” and so I thought this would be a good post to include them in. I’m only going to do 2 TO SHATTER A SHADOW SNIPPETS and the most will be poems!!

This is just a small insight into one of my very angry poems.

This one is also very personal and I like how it kind of rhymes naturally? I don’t think this is as good as some other ones I’ve written but I like the structure of it.

I LOVE THE THE LAST BIT OF THIS SNIPPET. I wish I could share the whole thing but alas, I’m too nervous. However, I love this poem so much and I know there’s an extra ‘ in don’t.

A WHOLE POEM!! I’m feeling very generous today so count yourselves lucky. I really like the end and the beginning of this poem. The middle is “meh” and I honestly don’t like it but WHATEVER!!

And here are two snippets from my WIP:

SKATTEN SNAPPEDI LOVE THOSE LAST TWO LINES DAMN but the rest of the snippet is trash

What is your least favourite/least favourite genre to write? Why do you love writing? What is your favourite type of -thing- to write? Are you a plotter or panster? Did you like the snippets? Tell me about your writing!!

Oh I am utterly IN LOVE with this!!!! You know I could look at your words all day long because they are so beautiful and tender and I AM EMOTING. There are multiple feels in my eye. It always brings a smile to my face to see people talk about their writing because YES YOU DID THIS THIS IS ALL YOU YOU MADE A STORY WHERE THERE WASN’T ONE BEFORE and that’s some kinda of magic. YOU’RE A WIZARD ILSA.

Skatten seems like a smol angsty child look at me having the urge to wrap him in blankets and tell him it’s all going to be ok and make him tea. And I’ve been in love with Jackie the absolute magic thunderstorm since I’ve heard about her the first time so AGHHHH!!!

When you’re a famous author I will most definitely be sporting a “WHISPEROFINK FAN CLUB” T-shirt. I’ll be on the sidelines cheering and being super proud. Actually I’m on the sidelines cheering right now so. Also the COVER for the book would be so amazing just IMAGINEEEEEEE.

YOU ARE “EMOTING”. That’s like a genius word why does it not exist how comes I’ve just heard of this genius NOW?! But I am so glad you like my writing, all these compliments are actually making me think my writing is GOOD and gives me so much confidence ❤ ❤ ❤

HOW DID YOU FIGURE OUT I AM LE PENGUIN WIZARD I THOUGHT I KEPT MY SECRET SAFE. But yes, I'm so proud and wrote a 50,000 word novel is this real it still has not sunk in GOSH DAMN IT

SKATTEN IS LITERALLY THE DEFENTION OF SMOL ANGSTY CHILD and I just LUUURRRRVE to torture him because it's SO. FUN. Literally Jackie is just sjfh jsfhso wonderful and a queen and I love her what an ICON.

WHEN IM A FAMOUS AUTHOR??? you give me so much hope omg *more crying* WIIL THIS FAN CLUB T-SHIRT HAVE PENGUINS ON IT BC IF IT DOESN'T I WILL RIOT.

and i know i need someone to make a cover design for this it would be SO beautiful.the. aesthetic. tho.

In terms of plotter vs. panster: I AM WITH YOU. All growing up I was told that you HAD to start with your outline and plan everything before you started writing and I was just like “What is this foreign language of ‘outline’?” And then I grew up and read interviews with authors who said they never outlined their books and I was like “WHAT?? WHY HAS THE WORLD LIED TO ME ALL THESE YEARS???”
Other people writing can be really motivating for me when it comes to writing. When people talk about their WIPs on their blogs I get all excited and want to go write my own. Or when a certain dragon queen announced she was getting TWO books published, I got really excited for her and also really excited about writing my own books.
I love magical realism!! It’s definitely one of my favorite genres to write.
I LOVE the stanza “And you could be silent in speech/ And the whole universe would hang onto/ Every word you don’t say.” It has such beautiful power to it. And something about the lines “I never saw You again/ There was no graveyard to visit/ No flowers to give” is really beautiful.
And in the snippet from your WIP, I love when he realizes that it doesn’t matter if her breaks things because no one is there to scold him for it and how free he is, and the whole concept of your actions not mattering when no one else is there and it’s all SO SAD. And those last two lines!!!! Let me give this child a hug.

A WILD PANSTER HAS BEEN SPOTTED. *screams* Finally!! i have met someone who doesn’t outline or plot or plan and just goes with it!! I was SHOCKED when I realised you din’t have to actually outline, I MEAN WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME??

OMG A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES IS FAB and I’m so excited for THe Boy Who Steals Houses AHHH, it sounds so good and smol and pure AND I NEED THIS!!! (and yes a book blogger getting published also motivates me!!)

I love that stanza too because it’s so powerful and it gets me in ma feels ajahdgjagshjh AHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH I WANNA CRY YOU ARE BEING SO NICE.

Yes my Skatten is so precious and amazing and that scene is a really big turning point in his character and it’s so weird and wonderful to see him change over my novel shshasdhasgdjasgdjhg.

PANSTERS UNITE!
And I’m so jealous because YOU HAVE READ A THOUSAND PERFECT NOTES AND I HAVE NOT.
I can’t wait for The Boy Who Steals Houses! Brothers and angst and brownies?? SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
Now excuse me while I go knit a sweater for Skatten.

Your poems are SO beautiful Ilsa! Seriously, WOW! I love them so much!

I’m definitely a plotter, because if I don’t plot, at least to some degree, I end up writing a chapter or two, realize I have no idea where I’m going, and give up.

Due to this, and also me sucking at plotting, I haven’t actually done much writing, but I’m starting to plot something now… My ‘plotting’ currently consists of scribbling random details in a notebook at midnight, but I’m getting somewhere… slowly…

Your poems and your writing are really beautiful, I’m so glad you shared these, you’re a wonderful writer and have so much talent, well from what I see here, you really do! ❤
Your WIP sounds all kinds of amazing and I can't wait to read it someday and see it published in libraries and bookshops and everything else. YOU ARE DOING AWESOME. Best of luck for all of your rewriting and editing! ❤ ❤

I’m sure it won’t be that far 😉 you’re doing AMAZING and I’ll be your number one fan. Maybe not number one, since I’m sure I’m already late and someone claimed that place, but… I will be there hahaha. 😛

I ADORED READING THIS ILSA❤️❤️Ahh your WIP sounds amazingly amazing!! And I really enjoyed the snippets, thank you so much for sharing them with us. My favorite one was the third poem, I especially loved the “the whole universe would hang on to every word you don’t say” and EEP I’M FANGIRLING OVER IT

Ooh I really like your poetry snippets!! And your WIP sounds so good, I LOVE that Pinterest board! 😊
Also I totally relate to being a pantser, I’m just making my WIP up as I go along and hoping that it’ll turn out a half-decent story 😂 I used to think that I should outline and plan everything like everyone else seems to do, and because I didn’t it meant I was a bad writer? But I’ve realised since then that everyone’s writing process is different and it’s okay to just wing it. (I honestly can’t plan a story to save my life)

Ilsa those snippets are GREAT don’t be so hard on yourself. Like that last snippet?? So GOOD don’t call it trash. And your poems make me wish I could write poetry ahhh (I used to write poetry but then at some point I just felt so awkward?? And stopped?? And now I can’t make myself do it?)

Your WIP sounds really interesting, good luck with the editing and re-writing – it can definitely take up a lot of time, but I hope you’re also enjoying it 🙂

Also I feel you on sci-fi I could never write it I don’t have enough technical knowledge and stuff lmao

[…] My So-Called Bollywood Life which sounds like a great book so check out her amazing review 💛 Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink talks about her writing in the Rising Author Tag and shares some amazing sni… 💛 Annemieke @ A Dance With Books celebrated her blog’s third birthday 💛 She also […]

Great post. Jackie sounds awesome. I am 100% with you on the annoying trope of strong female characters turning into mush when a love interest appears. They are people in their own right, they deserve strong story-lines and emotions that don’t always revolve around the love-interest.

It’s one of the reasons I do always test a book with a female character against the Bechdel Test – it might not be the best but it is a good starting point.

I can see why you like poetry, you have such a beautiful flare for it. Thanks so much for sharing!

Ohhh I loved reading this! It’s just the best thing getting to know other writers’ thoughts/methods and everything! And honestly I had no idea about writing “rules” when I started either. I *whispers* believe it or not did not know what editing was. I thought you had to write it perfectly the first time.😂So when I messed up, I’d legit scrap the WHOLE BOOK and start again. Ahhh, Little-Cait. You poor poor thing.😂😂But anyway, it’s really important to hear about different ways to write, yes?! I’m a big plotter, but I used to be a panster and it stressed me out way too much. AND I LOVED GETTING TO SEE YOUR SNIPPETS.

And can we just??? flail forever??? over the Accident season!! YES. I love messy characters and odd plots and magical realism and strangeness. I haven’t written a true magical realism yet but it’s like next on my to-write list. 😍

Your WIP sounds so dark and beautiful! And the snippets! I agree that those last lines about nightmares were so good aak I have been slightly emotioned please post more I beg.
Also your poemss ❤
Simi ~ simizat.wordpress.com

I think it’s really interesting to see that you are a pantser and it worked for you! I personally have been trying to make an outline for my book, and more than anything, I feel like it is keeping me from writing what I really want to write. So I think I will try pantsing!

Oh my word, I have NEVER successfully written an outline- not even when I was required to for a school project. I would literally wing it, and then after the story was finished I would create an “outline” (basically a summary) from the completed story, and no one would be the wiser. Cheating, yes, but that’s how I survived.
I love your snippets!!! Your poetry is so raw and truthful. Never stop! I especially like the second half of the angry poem snippet, and the middle stanza of the second one, and the third stanza of the third snippet, and the final stanza of the full poem. And your snippets from your book are great too! I actually really like the second one, (the whole thing, no, it’s not trash). I love the expression of frustration with people, because it’s relatable- though to an extremity. We all feel a bit like that sometimes, because we’ve been hurt or seen others hurt and we just don’t get why people are so cruel and we want to be rid of everyone because we don’t want to deal with the mess but at the same time we don’t even realize how desperately we need to be loved and that’s what makes these moments so devastating. We lose hope just when we most need it. I mean, obviously I have no idea what is happening in the story, but out of context that’s kind of what I got from it. so tell me if I am totally off. Thank you for sharing these snippets with us!
Hm, I think my least favourite genre to write is nonfiction? Because I am so very bad at it. Because I never do it. I also tend to dislike writing about school rivalry type stories. That’s not really a genre, but whatever. Maybe it’s because I never went to school, but stories revolving chiefly around school problems aren’t really my thing.
I go through poetry writing phases where I write a bunch of poetry, and then I stop for months at a time. I am not in one right now, but I know what you mean about poetry being an awesome way to express your thoughts. I love writing poetry. When I remember to do it.
One of my favourite genres to write is fantasy, with magical/medieval worlds, lowkey fantasy wildlife, and a cast of characters with severe psychological problems. Such good times we have.
Writing is like…breathing. There’s nothing like pouring out your writhing insides onto paper, and using ink is a relatively mess-free way to do this. I would run out of blood much more quickly. When I write I can express myself, even if the result is rather ridiculous. I can explore worlds and scenarios that are barred to me in real life. I can organize my thoughts. (Also I have the memory of a sieve and if I don’t write down my thoughts I will forget them.) I could never stop writing. Even if I never create an “finished products” for publication, writing has enough personal benefits that I think I could be satisfied with that.
Great post!!! (Sorry for the length of this comment, I tend to ramble.)

I really like this. Those writing moods are so relatable! Sometimes I can’t even bring myself to write anything but other days, I’m all for writing!

I LOVED hearing about your novel! It’s so cool to think that YOU WRITE THIS ALL BY YOURSELF #Wow! Skatten sounds really cool and I love the name. It’s really unique!

I AM A PANTSER TOO!!! If you ask me to plan something I’m just like AAGGGHHH and all my motivation goes right through the window. Bye bye ideas’💡

I do get discouraged though when everyone else is using outline and I’m not. Like AM I BEING WEIRD????

AND ILSA YOUR SNIPPETS ARE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! I WANT MORE!! YOU ARE SO TALENTED! I really like the one with ‘and the whole world will hang onto every word you don’t say!’ You are a fabulous writer and I can’t wait to read your book(s) one day!!!!!😂😊😁🍍🍍❤️